ByCarol Huang, Staff writerMarch 23, 2010

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband speaks in the House of Commons Tuesday after Britain expelled an Israeli diplomat over the alleged use of forged UK passports in the Dubai assassination of a Hamas operative in a suspected Mossad hit.

“The passports used were copied from genuine British passports when handed over for inspection” to Israel, Mr. Miliband told Parliament. It is "highly likely (the forgeries) were made by a state intelligence service,” he said.

Miliband's comments, together with his promised expulsion of a diplomat from Israel's London Embassy, offer the first apparent confirmation of Dubai Police Chief Dahi Khalfan’s claim that Israel was involved in the Jan. 19 attack.

Police released detailed video footage that showed the suspects following Mabhouh at the Dubai airport and at his hotel.

They identified 27 suspects who had entered the UAE using fake passports from Britain, Australia, Ireland, France, and Germany. Many of the names on the passports belonged to Israeli dual nationals.

Interpol, the international policing body, has deemed the evidence gathered by the Dubai police (including material not made public) credible enough to issue arrest notices for all 27 suspects and join an international task force on the investigation.

While several governments are also looking into the matter, none but Dubai had mentioned Israel in connection with the killing until now.

The findings of the investigation led to Britain’s actions on Tuesday.

Message to Israel wasn't strong enough – analyst

While the announcement will offer validation to Dubai, Professor Abdulla says it could have sent a stronger message to Israel.

“This is just the minimum we would expect from the British government,” he says. “For a country that has [so many of] its passports stolen, you need some strong message of displeasure to be announced.”

Miliband said Britain had offered biometric passports to all 12 of its citizens whose identities were stolen. Britain is also rolling out biometric passports for all citizens.

“The actions in this case are completely unacceptable and they must stop,” said Miliband.